Description:
Samson and Company reproduction of a Chinese export porcelain, leaf-shaped condiment dish with handle decorated in the Imari palette of blue, iron-red, and gilding, and a pseudo-Chinese character mark in red on the underside. Sometimes honest reproductions can be mistaken for originals. The most famous factory to produce ceramic reproductions was the Paris firm of Samson and Company, owned by Edme Samson (1810-1891) and his son, Emile (1837-1913). The intention of the firm was to reproduce ceramics from museums and private collections, and it claimed that all such reproductions would be distinctly marked to avoid confusion with the originals. The Samson Factory began making superb imitations of 18th-century porcelain from such factories as Sèvres, Chelsea, Meissen, and Derby, Chinese export porcelain wares, and delftware around 1845 and continued into the 20th century. In the range of its Chinese export porcelain imitations, the factory preferred to manufacture armorial wares decorated with famille rose colors and mugs decorated with the Fitzhugh pattern. The factory also was known for its ability to create replacements for broken pieces from Chinese armorial services. This dish, decorated with the Royal arms of France encircled by the Collars of the Orders of Saint-Michel and Saint-Esprit in the Imari palette, copies an extremely rare Chinese porcelain dinner service of about 1720. While its form and design are similar to the original, the quality of the enameling is not as finely rendered or detailed. The paste or body color is whiter than Chinese porcelain, and the glaze is slightly thicker and bluish green. Samson Factory pieces are sometimes marked with an overglaze intertwined double S in red or gold, or a pseudo-Chinese character mark as in this example. Unfortunately these identifying overglaze marks can be removed by the unscrupulous, and the pieces sold to collectors as the “real” thing.
Subjects:
Pottery; Enamel and enameling; glaze (coating by location); Porcelain Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+66.039 |
